Healthy Cooking

Thai noodle salad with almond butter is my newest creation. I make Thai noodle salad all the time and always switch up the different veggies I use. This time I decided to try it using chunky almond butter instead of peanut butter and it turned out great. Almond butter has less sugar and is healthier for you, but I still love the more traditional Thai noodle salad as well. This is a great option for people who are allergic to peanuts!

I also used my favorite gluten free pasta by Ancient Harvest made with quinoa. You can usually find this pasta at any grocery store.

Thai noodle salad is also great with shrimp, chicken or beef! Other vegetables that are great with this dish include, but are not limited to: asparagus, snow peas, cilantro, radish, and greens.

Add the vegetables into the pasta dish and then slowly add the almond butter mixture while stirring until the pasta is completely coated and mixed well. There will be left over sauce, so safe that and use it later if needed after the pasta has been refrigerated.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and serve. Use some of the left over sauce if needed.

Recipe Notes

Thai noodle salad is also great with shrimp, chicken or beef! Other vegetables that are great with this dish include, but are not limited to: asparagus, snow peas, cilantro, radish, and greens.

This Quinoa Curry Salad is one of my newest recipes I created. The curry flavor mixed with the sweetness of the cranberries and the tanginess of the lemon juice and zest all blend in together very nicely.

Quinoa is one of my favorite go to’s because of the health benefits. Botanically Quinoa is not classified as a grain, although nutritionally it is considered a whole grain. Quinoa is naturally gluten-free and contains iron, B-vitamins, magnesium phosphorus, potassium, calcium, vitamin E, and fiber. It is one of only a few plant foods that are considered a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids.

Most of the time I buy the organic quinoa in the frozen section at Trader Joe’s. However, you can buy the kind you cook over the stove as well.

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Quinoa Curry Salad

Quinoa Curry Salad with cranberries, sliced almonds, scallions, lemon juice, lemon zest, curry powder and olive oil. This salad goes great with any type of meat due to the complex flavors.

I decided to give my normal meatloaf some Mexican flare, so here is my Mexican Turkey Meatloaf recipe I made tonight. My husband and I tend to like things more spicy, but you can certainly tone down the spice if you want and it will be just as delicious.

They key to a moist meatloaf is to make sure you have enough liquid in it. I use marinara sauce or ketchup in any type of meatloaf I make. The marinara sauce did not impact the flavor of the Mexican Turkey Meatloaf in a negative way either. I experimented, and it all actually worked together.

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MEXICAN TURKEY MEATLOAF

This recipe is a nice change from traditional meatloaf that your family will love!

In a large bowl add the ground turkey, marinara sauce or ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and mix with your hands.

Whisk the 2 eggs and pour into the ground turkey mixture, along with the bread crumbs, onions, green peppers, corn and spices. Mix well with your hands.

Preheat oven to 400.

Spray loaf pan with cooking spray to ensure the meat doesn't stick to the bottom and sides while cooking.

Add the ground turkey mixture to the loaf pan and top it off with ketchup or marinara sauce.

Cook in the over for approximately 45 to 55 minutes and let cook at least 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

Gluten Free Options: You can find gluten free bread crumbs at the store, or you can make them yourself. I have also ground gluten free crackers before and used instead since I always have them on hand.

I just made the healthy Vietnamese bowl the other night. I left out the sugar that normally is in this dish and I also had to leave out the fish sauce since my husband is allergic to all fish and fish sauces. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 flank steak

1 package of pad tai noodles or other rice based noodle

1 package julienned carrots

2 scallions, chopped

1 red and 1 green jalapeno finely chopped into thin slices

mixed greens or other desired lettuce

sprouts

rice vinegar (with no sugar)

garlic chili sauce

peanut butter or almond butter

peanuts to top

3 to 4 limes

Directions:

Prepare the flank steak by coating with a bit of grapeseed oil, walnut oil or olive oil, then queeze the juice of one full lime over meat.

Coat meat with any spicy rub you might have. I used a Jamaican jerk one I had, but you can really use anything. If you had a Thai spice that would work also. NOTE: For better results you can marinate the meat with the oil, lime juice and spices an hour or so before.

Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes at 350 for medium rare. You do not want to over cook flank steak because the meat will end up being really tough.

Once the meat has cooled a bit, cut into thin slices and set aside.

Cook the noodles and set aside.

Mix a small amount of rice vinegar, about a tablespoon of peanut butter or less and a small amount of chili paste.

Mix the peanut butter mixture with the noodles in a bowl.

Assemble everything into a bowl or plate, and you can top more with just the rice vinegar or you can mix some of the peanut butter mixture with more vinegar. You don’t want to drown everything out. Just enough to coat it.